Iraqi troops kill 30 Islamic State terrorists while they were hiding inside a cave in western Mosul

Iraqi troops killed on Sunday 30 Islamic State (IS) militants while hiding inside a cave in western Mosul, the Turkish Anadolu Agency quoted an army official as saying.

“Upon accurate intelligence reports, Iraqi troops fired 27 missiles from a Stryker armored vehicle against a cave in Al-Ba’aj district, 150 km west of Mosul, leaving the cave completely destroyed,” Major Abbas Abdel Azim from the 20th brigade of the Iraqi army said.

“All 30 IS militants who were inside the cave were killed in the bombardment,” Abdel Azim pointed out, revealing that the cave is believed to be used as an explosives depot as a huge explosion was heard following the missile attack.

There were no casualties among the Iraqi troops, Abdel Azim concluded.

A government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and a U.S.-led international coalition, has been fighting the Islamic State group, which declared a self-styled “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced, last July, liberation of the second largest Iraqi city of Mosul from IS militants, who had captured it in 2014. More than 25,000 militants were killed throughout the campaign, which started in October 2016.

Despite the victory over IS there in the city, observers say IS is believed to constitute a security threat even after the group’s defeat at its main havens across Iraqi provinces.

Source: Iraqi News